Football fever gives tabloids a leg up

World Cup coverage and promotions helped tabloid newspapers boost their circulation in June.

Newspapers

Daily popular titles registered a 0.68% month on month lift in average daily net circulation to 5.4 million last month, according to latest ABC figures.

The Sun managed to climb 1.5% to 2.97 million, while The Daily Mirror jumped 0.87% to 1.24 million. The Daily Star, which has just cut its cover price by half in London, did not appear to benefit from the enthusiasm around the World Cup, registering a 1.57% fall in circulation.

Quality titles fared less well overall, despite in-depth coverage and interest in the budget on June 22. The sector posted a 2.77% drop in average net circulation.

The Guardian saw a 4.74% dip to 286,220, The Telegraph dropped 2.45% to 681.322, while The Times, which has just introduced a paywall for its online content, posted a 2.28% drop to 503,642. The Independent, now under the ownership of Alexander Lebedev, registered a 3.79% dip to 187,135.

In the mid-market, the Daily Mail posted a rise in circulation to 2.09 million, while the Daily Express increased circulation by 0.1%.

The Sunday market continued to struggle across the board. The popular titles fell 0.83% overall with the News of The World down 1.05% to 2.8 million and the Sunday Mirror down 0.02% to 1.14 million.

Quality titles also circulation dive, 2.67% overall with The Sunday Times down 2.87% to 1.08 million and the recently re launched Observer falling 3.95% to 326,821. The Independent on Sunday saw circulation fall 4.30% and The Sunday Telegraph was down 0.8%.